Santapazienza Golf Club

Santapazienza Golf Club, home to a private and top-rated tree-lined and open parkland layout, is located just south of the town of Itatiba in the state of São Paulo. This Tom Fazio design straddles the Ribeirao Jacaré, a local river that opens out into two good size lakes as it flows through the course.
According to Tom Fazio: “The land is spectacular, with water features, great trees and big elevation changes. We were given the freedom to explore ways to maximize the potential of the land and… I believe we have created a golf experience unlike any in the world.”
The Fazios certainly pulled out all the stops to make this layout as visually pleasing as possible. For instance, standing on the 217-yard 3rd tee, your eye is drawn to the stream that spills over little waterfalls to the right of the putting surface, before it empties into the lake that fronts the green.
After putting out at the par four 5th, the cart path to the next tee heads straight towards a lake – which seems at first like a disaster waiting to happen – but a sturdy causeway continues just below the surface, giving other golfers the impression that you’re driving on water! This is just one of example of the extraordinary lengths the Fazios and the owner have taken to hide Santapazienza’s cart paths.
On the back nine, the 212-yard 12th is probably the most memorable par three on the card. Here, the tee shot drops almost 100 feet from the teebox, across a ravine to a split level raised green that tapers to the left, with a front bunker adding further protection on that side of the hole.
The round at Santapazienza ends with a strong downhill par four, where the tree-lined fairway plunges to the right off the tee. A lake also threatens on the right and an enormous bunker guards the left of the hole so be sure to aim straight and true to avoid both sand and water at the home hole.